


Hold My Hand for a While, Hold My Heart Forever

by Valkyri (kisikil)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Commission fic, M/M, it's only rated T bc fuck is said sometimes lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 05:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12051966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kisikil/pseuds/Valkyri
Summary: Nori and Haruka are on a date, and all Nori wants to do is hold Haruka’s hand. Who knew that was so hard?!





	Hold My Hand for a While, Hold My Heart Forever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrynova](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrynova/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Dangan Ronpa: Drowning in Bittersweet Despair](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10510020) by [starrynova](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrynova/pseuds/starrynova). 



> a commission for my buddy kirb (starrynova) of the best dr couple in existence

“O-Oh! Look, Nori! That one over there’s a lion’s mane jellyfish! I-It’s the biggest kind of jelly, gero…”

“Yeah, it’s, uh…really fuckin’ big.”

The behemoth jellyfish languidly floated alongside dozens of tinier ones, ones that resembled nothing more than specks of dust compared to it. The tank was plenty big enough to hold such a monster, the glass encompassing the entire exhibit from floor to roof. Everywhere you looked, there was the vibrant glow of the jellyfish exhibit, every foot of the water occupied by some jelly that was beaming with beautiful color. Haruka’s eyes trailed from one jellyfish to another, his eyes wide with a child-like fascination as though he were peering up at a night sky sprinkled with an endless shroud of sparkling stars.

Now, this is the assumed part where it’s said that Nori was gazing at Haruka, marvelling at how his eyes gleamed against the colors of the water surrounding them, noting how nothing could compare. But, in reality, he was staring at Haruka’s hand as his own was sweating more than a hand should. For the past two hours, he attempted to be a romantic boyfriend and hold Haruka’s hand, but he hadn’t succeeded yet. Turns out reaching out and grabbing a singular hand took a lot more courage and effort than those sappy romance movies promised. Only one thing crossed Nori’s head for the past five minutes:

_ Why the  _ hell  _ is this so goddamn hard?! _

“Aren’t they just the best, gero?” Haruka said, his voice rattling like the ribbit of a frog. “They’re not really fish, but they’re not really anything else either… They’re completely harmless, but they’re also very dangerous, gero!” 

Haruka kept on and on about the jellyfish that floated mindlessly around them, sputtering out various facts and tid-bits about jellyfish that most people wouldn’t be able to rattle off the top of their heads so easily. Once he got into what he was talking about, there was no stopping him… Surprising, really, considering the frog boy was usually quiet and meek. That’s what Nori loved the most about him, and he wanted to show him that if he wasn’t  _ such a fucking wimp. _

_ You can totally do this, dude, _ Nori thought to himself, taking in a huge breath of air to calm himself down.  _ Just take a chill pill… He’s distracted, he won’t even notice your wet-ass hand holding his… Just...reach out…and... _

Nori was centimeters away from achieving his life-long goal of being a good boyfriend when Haruka squeaked, “Oh, look!” and ran off right before he could grab it. Nori furrowed his brow and balled up his fist, resisting the urge to punch out the nearest guy out of sheer frustration over his own incompetence.

He followed the excited Haruka, finding themselves deeper into the jellyfish exhibit. How big was this exhibit, Nori could only guess - if he didn’t know better, he’d think this entire aquarium was nothing but jellies lethargically floating around, reflecting the different neon lights that lighted their way. Haruka was  _ thrilled _ , though, and that’s what mattered.

Nori decided that his best course of action was to stop being a wuss and just go for it. He’s beaten up guys a foot taller than him with these hands; why couldn’t he hold a single, delicate one? So, he decided at the count of five, he would kick his anxiety’s ass and go for it. Grab that boy’s hand, Nori! Grab it like your life depended on it!

Five!

You’re the fucking boss!

Four!

Gah… Look at him smile…

Three...!

Squeeze that shit like your life depends on it!

Two...

God, why is his smile so cute?!

One…?

Oh no, his hands were sweaty again.

Nori fought against it all. He fought against his sweaty hands and his racing heart and the little voice in the back of his head that said he would regret this single action for the rest of his life. He fought against it all, tucking it back into the little hollow hole from once it came and went for it - he threw his hand out faster and harder than any punch he had ever thrown before, and grabbed the hand next to him.

“Fuck yeah!” Nori yelled, squeezing the hand triumphantly.

“...Um…?”

“Huh?”

Nori could've sworn he heard someone speak with a voice so low, it almost sounded like a bass guitar playing. Nori whipped his head to the side to find not his scarf-wearing meek boyfriend with pink cheeks but rather a wrinkly old man with a beer belly and a thick, white beard. He was befuddled, thinking Haruka turned into Santa Claus for the day, until he spotted his date further down the exhibit, joyfully reading a plaque about a rare species of jellyfish. The old man gawked at him as a confused Nori continued to hold his hand.

“The fuck do you want?!” Nori shouted, making the old man jump out of his skin. Nori swiped his hand away from him as though  _ he _ were the one to commit the horrendous, embarrassing crime, and marched back to Haruka.

Nori settled on the fact that distracting himself to the point that he wouldn’t realize when Haruka wandered off was not the best approach to this. So, he settled with a new plan: woo Haruka over and, while he’s swooning over his macho and totally handsome boyfriend, hold his hand to seal the deal. Roll credits. There was absolutely  _ nothing _ that could go wrong with that plan! The only problem, though, was Nori didn’t know exactly  _ how _ to woo over Haruka to such a degree, much less keep his attention more than the jellyfish already had this entire time. He could try to flirt with him, but the last time he did was when he started calling him Kermit, and…

_ “Hey, uh, Kermit!” _

_ “K-Kermit? Is that me, gero…?” _

_ “Yeah! Your, uh, scarf is fucking tubular, ya know?” _

_ “...I-Is...what?” _

That was the last time Nori tried to flirt.

The question was then… How exactly was Nori going to woo over Haruka? Serenade him? That seemed like a plausible way to woo someone, though it might be a bit puzzling why Nori was suddenly singing in the middle of a jellyfish exhibit. Stop some creep from harassing him? Nori didn’t  _ want _ someone to harass Haruka, and he knew if some creep started to do so he’d probably have to put him six feet under the ground. Walk some old lady across the street? Haruka would probably see him as a princely saint after that, but where was Nori supposed to find an old lady at such short notice?

Just as Nori was about to settle on jumping in a shark tank and going at it with only his fists (how much more manly is that?), he noticed a small child holding some tayaki in her hand. That’s when he had an amazing idea - instead of possibly risking his life and throwing Haruka into a spiraling depression for the rest of his days, he would get him some tayaki! Haruka loved that stuff, or at least almost everyone on this planet did, so there was no way this could possibly backfire!

So, Nori marched up to the little girl and swiped the tayaki out of her hand. The girl, predictably, started wailing.

“W-Wait a minute!” Nori shouted, but the girl kept on crying. Patreons surrounding them started to look in their direction, some giving sharp glares at Nori. Nori started to sweat, worried that Haruka would eventually glance over and think of him poorly, never wanting to see his face again. He couldn’t let that happen! So, he dug into his pocket and threw 1000 yen at the girl. “There!” he yelled. “Buy yourself some more!”

The girl sniffed, rubbing her eyes as she started at the new-found money in her hands. Then, she gave Nori a huge, toothy smile. “Th-Thanks, mister!” she stuttered, the tears in her eyes starting to dissipate as she skipped over to the nearby tayaki stand, where they were selling the sweet for only 300 yen.

Nori headed back to where Haruka was, who fortunately didn’t watch him literally steal candy from a child. His eyes were still to the plaques that gave new knowledge and information about the jellies in the tanks. Nori tapped his shoulder and, before Haruka could say anything, held out the tayaki. “Here,” Nori grunted, pretending he didn’t care when in reality he was giddy on the inside to see Haruka’s reaction.

Haruka’s eyes lit up, and he grinned from ear to ear. “T-Tayaki…!” he nearly shouted in his own little frog way, and gently held onto the sweet treat. “You got this for me, gero…?”

“Well, uh, yeah,” Nori muttered under his breath.

“Wow… I really appreciate it!” Haruka chirped, his entire face glowing as he held the tayaki in both hands. He bit down into it, making a little noise that Nori thought was the most  _ adorable fucking thing he ever heard _ . “Th-This is so good, Nori!” Haruka said with his mouth full of tayaki. “Y-You’re the absolute best, gero!”

_ This is it,  _ Nori thought to himself. He’s done it: he’s wooed Haruka, and now was his opportunity to reach out and finally do what he’d aimed to do this entire date: hold his hand. Nori took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come, for what he was about to do could change everything. It could change the entire game; how they, as a couple, moved from there. He cracked each finger on his hand with his thumb, prepping them for the final move, and reached out-

Only to realize that both of Haruka’s hands were occupied with holding the tayaki.

_...Did...I just fucking cuck myself? _

So, Nori waited for Haruka to finish his tayaki. He didn’t want to be rude and rip Haruka away from his possibly one true love, anyway. What he didn’t expect, though, was the fact he would be waiting and waiting, and by the time Haruka finally nibbled down to the last crumb of the tayaki, they would already be out of the beloved jellyfish exhibit and back into the main part of the aquarium. They had already checked out every other tank in the place - Nori specifically left the jellyfish exhibit last because he knew jellies were Haruka’s favorite - so that only meant one thing…

The date was nearly over, and Nori hadn’t accomplished the one thing he wanted to do in it. Haruka looked satisfied, delighted to have spent so much time with his jellyfish. Nori never saw him more thrilled besides when he was surrounded by his dearest amphibians, his eyes clear and sparkling and his pink cheeks redder than ever from how much he was smiling. Nori couldn’t ask for more, honestly - for Haruka to seem so happy.

But, that didn’t stop Nori from sagging his shoulders, wishing he wasn’t such a wuss.

“What’s wrong, gero…?” Haruka asked, snapping Nori back into reality. Haruka’s big grin had disappeared, his face now fixed with worry.  _ Now you’re makin’ Kermit depressed!  _ Nori thought, scolding himself. 

Nori tried to smile at him, but it was strained. “Aw, it’s nothin’, Kermit…” He replied, not even convincing himself.

“Y-You seem so sad…” Haruka muttered, playing with the end of his scarf between his fingertips. “Is there something bothering you, gero…?”

Nori sighed. He didn’t want to admit that he was upset because he hasn’t held his adorable boyfriend’s hand all day, and he was worried he would never straighten up and their relationship would forever be stagnant as he was too afraid to initiate any sort of affection he would like to. But, that was a mouthful. “Just, uh, bummed we left the jelly exhibit,” was the excuse he ended up using. 

“Oh, so am I…! Aren’t those jellies just wonderful?” Haruka said, his excited demeanour over the weird fish slowly bubbling back up. “They’re so pretty, and the lights in the exhibit r-really show just how unique they are, gero…”

“Yeah…” Nori muttered under his breath, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t looking Haruka in the eye, mostly out of sheer shame. There was a small silence between them for a while as they stood there, Haruka’s eyes on Nori and Nori’s eyes on the floor. 

Just then, Nori felt a tug on his arm, his hand slipping out of his pocket and into the hand of another. He peered over to see that Haruka had...had…

Held his hand!

_ Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god. _

“Y-You know, we don’t have to leave yet…” Haruka said with a small grin and a soft blush on his cheeks. “W-We can go through the jelly exhibit again, gero! B-Besides… I-I don’t want this date to end just yet, gero. Jellies is one thing, b-but being with you…” Haruka gave Nori a huge, warm smile. “I-It’s… Y-You’re really tubular, gero!”

Nori’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest, and he  _ knew _ his sweating was the reason why their hands were slipping apart so easily and Haruka had to hold on a little tighter than someone needed to. But...there they were, finally holding hands as Nori had aimed to do this entire time. And Haruka was the one to initiate it! Little, meek Haruka, with the cutest little smile and the sweetest looking eyes and the softest looking li-

“Ah, ahem,” Nori choked out, his throat tight. He coughed a few times, trying to get the words he wanted to say out in a decent, not-embarrassing fashion. “Y-You’re, uh, you’re… Erm, uh, really, uh… T-T-... You’re really cool too, Kermit…” Nori squeezed Haruka’s hand, and they headed back into the jellyfish exhibit, huge, stupid smiles plastered on their faces.


End file.
